image of president obama and governor christie shoulder to shoulder, a time when he promised to help victims quickly. >> i want you to cut through red tape. i want you to cut through bureaucracy. there's no excuse for inaction at this point. >> the white house said the president remains committed. >> there's no question what the president saw on staten island that enormous suffering continues. that's why we're looking at states and localities to continue the effort to assist in the recovery. >> reporter: a top congressional aide tells cnn lawmakers are waiting to see the administration proposal, and an administration official tells cnn the white house is still crunching its numbers. as for chris christie, who is up for re-election in new jersey next year, the top aide to the governor had no comment. just to get to a staggering sum of money we're talking about here, the $80 billion the governors are seeking roughly equal to the amount of money we'd raise in one year from raising taxes on the top 2 percent. so it's a lot of money. >> it's a tough time, that's for sure. jim acosta, than